Muzeum Śląskie - Jan Matejko - Ostatni Daszkiewicz 02

Ostap Dashkevych ( Ukrainian: Остап Дашкевич; born in Ovruch – died after 1535) is considered to be the first recorded leader of a Cossack defense force (according to Dmitri Bantysh-Kamensky, Dmytro Doroshenko, and others). However that claim of "first" is debatable because there were many other early leaders, including Bohdan Glinski from Severia and Dmytro Vyshnevetsky. Dashkevych held a position of

starosta The starosta or starost ( Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. T ...

Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the capital of Cherkasy Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city has a population of Che ...

(1514–35) at the early stages of development of cossacks and is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a

hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...

. Some sources as well as oral tradition claim that Dashkevych lived past the age of 80, at which age he routed the Tatars at Cherkasy.

Origin

The information about his origin is very scarce. The Polish poet from Kyiv region Józef Bohdan Zaleski in the foreword of his

duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were f ...

"Out of the Savur's Grave or duma about the first hetman" wrote that in his childhood he heard stories about Daszko Wisnowecki who lived on the Knyahynia rincessisland just south of

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

. According to the folk tale, the prince perished in his youth leaving on the island his wife (supposedly of Polish origin) and his son who eventually became a glorious Cossack hetman. Zaleski suggests that Ostap Dashkevych was a son of Daszko Wisnowecki. In his opinion, the origin of Dashkevych from the Princes Wisnoweckis could be confirmed as Ostap Dashkevych has the same family coat of arms. According to Seweryn Uruski, a Polish heraldry specialist, Dashkevych belonged to the Leliwa coat of arms. Ostap Dashkevych of

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

religion, he was presumably a descendant of Rurikid and Gengisid from Ovruch. Dashkevych also became known as a founder of

Zaporizhian Host Zaporozhian Host (or Zaporizhian Sich) is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River in what is Central Ukraine today, from the 15th to the 18th centuries. These in ...

. He donated his lands near Kyiv to the Church of Resurrection of Christ at

Podil Podil ( uk, Поділ) or the Lower cityIvankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace over the Dnieper betwe ...

in Kyiv. His estate eventually transformed into the village of Voskresenska Slobidka and later gave a name to the

Voskresenka Voskresenka is an East Slavic placename. It may refer to several places: Russia * Voskresenka, Altai Krai * Voskresenka, Republic of Bashkortostan Ukraine

* Voskresenka (Kyiv), Voskresenka, a district of Kyiv * Voskresenka, Polohy Raion, Z ...

neighborhood which is now a part of modern Kyiv on the left bank of

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

. Dashkevych was considered the highest authority in Lithuania on the Tatar question. His campaigns sometimes took him as far as Crimea. However, in 1515 and 1521, while in alliance with the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, he organized campaigns against the

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in the ...

to assist Lithuania. For some of his wars see Crimean-Nogai Raids, years 1515-1531. He took part in the 1507 uprising of Michael Glinski against King Zygmunt I the Old. In 1514, he became the starosta of both

Kaniv Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv ...

and Cherkasy. Dashkevych was an effective leader. He took a major role in not only organizing Cossack forces to defend

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

but also in organizing offensive campaigns against the Turks and Tatars. In Piotrków in 1533, he gave his plan to the Sejm, recommending that the government of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...

organize the Cossacks as a standing military force for the defense of Ukraine, which at the time made up the southern border of the Commonwealth. His plan was approved, but the Commonwealth provided no assistance.

Impact

Ostap Dashkevych made a great impact on the organization of the Ukrainian Cossack Army and the Ukrainian State. He is a prominent descendant of prince Rurik and

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin ...

of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe ...

, one of the first cossack otamans, which organized different troops of people of Ukraine of that time who identified as cossacks, into one military and political force, making it possible to defend the lives, freedoms, and rights of native people of Ukraine, who mostly were of Orthodox Christian faith and Ukrainian language, and therefore oppressed by the governments and military forces of surrounding countries.

In literature

Dashkevych's successful rout of the Crimean Tatars' attempt to sack

is commemorated in Tomasz Padura's ballad "Duma Rycerska".

References

* Dmytro Doroshenko, A Survey of Ukrainian History, ed. Oleh Gerus (Winnipeg, 1975).
Ostafii Dashkevych
a
''Encyclopedia of Ukraine''

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dashkevych, Ostap 1450s births 1530s deaths People from Ovruch Diplomats of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Zaporozhian Cossack nobility Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain

Origin

Impact

In literature

See also

References